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  • Circular Questioning

    I do tech support for a fairly specific product. I'm going to change the details here, both to avoid lengthy explanations and to make it generally obscure, so let's pretend that the software is used by a hamburger restaurant.

    Monday

    Email 1 - From Client Company Section Manager
    Hey, HS. We're adding to a product line. Could you add an extra code to our purchasing screens so we can track it separate from an existing similar code? We have O55 for the onions, but we also want R55 so we can specify red onions. Thanks!

    My Response
    Sure, SM. I can do that. But I checked the code. R55 looks like it's actually for a raspberry milkshake mix-in. I know the dessert components can sometimes use the same code as the burger components, but I just wanted to check to see if R55 is really the code you need. I can't find anything specific for red onions, and I know you guys don't do shakes... Maybe check with your suppliers and see what code they use for the onions?

    Email 2 - From Client Company Section Manager
    No problem! You're right; we don't need raspberry stuff.

    Email 3 - From Client Company Section Manager (sent to his co-worker; cc to me)
    Purchasing Manager, would you please check with Veggie Supplier to see what code they use for the red onions? My notes say it should be R55, but I guess that's used for raspberries too. HS at Tech Support doesn't want to add it to the program codes until we're sure it's the right code, and I agree.

    Email 4 - From Purchasing Manager (sent to Section Manager and Purchasing Staff Guy; cc to me)
    Can do. Purchasing Staff Guy, please contact Veggie Supplier to find out what the red onion code is.

    Tuesday

    Email 5 - From Purchasing Staff Guy (send to Kitchen Supervisor; cc to me and others)
    Kitchen Supervisor, the next time you get a delivery from Veggie Supplier, would you please find out what the red onion code is? It's not in Program yet, and I can't seem to get in touch with their service department today.

    Email 6 - From Kitchen Supervisor (sent to Internal Tech Support Dude; forwarded to me in Email 7)
    Hey Tech Dude. Why don't we have a red onion code in Program?

    Wednesday

    Email 7 - From Internal Tech Support Dude (sent to me as a forward with the above email chain included)
    Good morning, HS. We need to have a new code added to our purchasing section in Program. Do you know what the code for red onions is? We thought it was R55, but Section Manager says that's actually for raspberries. Hope you can help...


    My Response
    Sorry, Internal Tech Support Dude, I don't know what the right code is. That's why I asked you guys. I'm afraid I can't give you an answer to the question when I'm the one who asked it in the first place. Maybe try contacting Veggie Supplier? As you can see from the email chain below, Section Manager thinks that would be a good place to start.

    Email 8 - From Internal Tech Support Dude
    Oops. Sorry, HS. I wasn't paying attention, I guess. I'll ask Purchasing Manager. Maybe she knows.

    Friday

    New Email - From Client Company Head Honcho (to me, high importance)
    Mr. Tech Support, please add a red onion code to Program immediately. It is imperative that we have this code to differentiate from the white onions. You must ensure that it is the correct code. We understand there is a similar code for a raspberry milkshake, which we do not sell. Notify me directly as soon as this is completed. - Honcho


    Fortunately, Section Manager also called me that day. Turned out that the code was correct as long as it was in the right purchasing category. I put it in and let Head Honcho know. Then I took a long break.
    I suspect that... inside every adult (sometimes not very far inside) is a bratty kid who wants everything his own way.
    - Bill Watterson

    My co-workers: They're there when they need me.
    - IPF

  • #2
    Reading

    Well, they are reading the emails, it is just that they ae not thinking about what the emails say.

    Comment


    • #3
      Everybody knows that nobody reads FWDed email chains beyond the first response or two ^_^

      It does scare me how many people will not only quote the entire chain in situations where it's not needed (it WAS needed here) and print the whole thing out every time they receive an email... "Paperless office," my ass. 8p
      "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
      "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
      "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
      "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
      "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
      "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
      Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
      "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

      Comment


      • #4
        ... and that was the story of we came up with the Raspburger. Limited time @ $3.99 or as part of a combo!
        Shop Smart. Shop S-Mart!

        Comment


        • #5
          Quoth MrSmiley View Post
          the story of we came up with the Raspburger.

          mmmmmmmm...... Raspburgers! Scrape your tongue, make you socially inept, AND delicious too!

          HS - love how your request escalates in tone when handed back by HeadHoncho.
          That long break is well deserved - I've had similar happen (including a VERY large purchase request initiated by ME that came back as "Why don't we have Purchase Item 911ty!? You go get one") and the lack of reasoning is more than a little frustrating.

          Comment


          • #6
            I hate when customers include me in stuff that should be internal to them.

            I also hate when people who have no idea what's going on barge into a thread and start making demands and asking questions that were already answered. Had I received such an email from HeadHoncho, I probably would have replied stating I was awaiting verification of the correct code from BurgerCompany and that I could not add it until that was done.
            Supporting the idiots charged with protecting your personal information.

            Comment


            • #7
              You're right, Earl Colby, and it seems to be a common problem. I've learned from experience how best to communicate with some of my clients. There's one in particular who will ask single questions by email. I answer that question and ONLY that question. If I offer any additional details, the client will either ignore them or misread them and become thoroughly confused.

              Quoth EricKei View Post
              ...and print the whole thing out every time they receive an email... "Paperless office," my ass.
              Quoted for truth.

              I bet I could count on two hands the number of times I've had to print an email message. Yet I have co-workers who print any email they deem important and stuff it in a filing cabinet. When asked, they say that it might be important to have a record of that email later on. Never mind the fact that all our organization's emails are archived on each computer and on two separate network servers.

              Quoth MrSmiley View Post
              ... and that was the story of we came up with the Raspburger.
              Nice one!
              I suspect that... inside every adult (sometimes not very far inside) is a bratty kid who wants everything his own way.
              - Bill Watterson

              My co-workers: They're there when they need me.
              - IPF

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth MrSmiley View Post
                ... and that was the story of we came up with the Raspburger. Limited time @ $3.99 or as part of a combo!
                Does the combo include the new limited time only Red Onion milkshake?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth MrSmiley View Post
                  ... and that was the story of we came up with the Raspburger. Limited time @ $3.99 or as part of a combo!
                  Ooops! The correct supplier type is PRODUCE, not HARDWARE...
                  I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
                  Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
                  Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    HS - My boss at AccountingFirm had the "one question per email" issue, too. Even worse, he tended to ignore multiple emails on one project unless they were hours apart...and then got mad at me for "asking too many questions instead of working on the project" AND for "not communicating/clarifying" x.x ...when i had asked all of my questions in the initial email!
                    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                    "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                    "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                    "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                    "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                    "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                    Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                    "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                    Comment

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